Mr Sayers said boards were "paralysed" by a " total ring of conservatism" and too many boards had little or no experience in the things they are obsessing over: cyber crime, terrorism, digital, diversity.

Gary Wingrove, CEO of KPMG and Peter Nash, chairman of KPMG, at their Barangaroo offices.

Mr Nash said his view was "fundamentally different" as he believes that boards are moving to acquire the skills they need, and that corporate experience remains extremely valuable.

"[Luke's view] painted a picture that [boards] are dusty old school clubs," said Mr Nash.

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"Maybe that was true 10 to 12 years ago but most boards and chairman have been constructing their boards around the skills needed and looking at that through a diverse lens for some time now."

"There is a tendency to diminish the wisdom and experience of people who have been in the market and seen a lot of change. Given the complexity and volatility we're experiencing that's precisely what we need, augmented with other qualities and skills"

"Australian boards have not been left in the wake as disruption and [the pace of] change has changed the fabric of the corporate sector – that would suggest that we have incompetent boards and a less than robust corporate sector."

Mr Nash said boards have many means at their disposal to access the specialist expertise required to deal with technological and other changes they face – and they are accessing them.

Luke Sayers says boards were "paralysed" by a "total ring of conservatism". James Alcock

"What is needed at board level is a combination of agility and experience. The value of experience cannot be rendered irrelevant simply because times are changing, and changing fast. Indeed this is perhaps where experience is most required."

Robert Webster, head of recruiting firm Korn Ferry's board services practice said "the need for directors who understand the various digital business models is evident as traditional companies are going digital and many of our leading organisations are 'born digital' companies ... We are increasingly being asked to find NEDs (non-executive directors) with digital experience for boards of 'going digital' companies."

Mr Nash said it was not directors, but institutional investors, who were acting as a brake on investment as they "sometimes focus only on short-term performance and punish companies that take longer-term strategic risks."

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He said Australia is by and large very well served by "very competent boards, who serve both shareholders and the broader community well."

Momentum to bring female talent to bear on boards is at the "right level" and is "unstoppable."

"That's not to say that the job's done."

Mr Sayers argued: "My view isn't that boards aren't making progress on diversity. Australia is blessed with many boards who are absolutely getting the benefits of having more women, people from different cultural backgrounds, and digital natives represented.

"Rather, my view is that progress has been too slow. I get that making change happen is difficult, our experience on gender and cultural diversity at PwC has taught us that, but it shouldn't stop us from agitating for change to happen faster, and in a more holistically diverse way."

Yolanda Beattie, diversity and inclusion practice leader at Mercer, said that momentum for gender diversity on boards is picking up, with women making up 30 per cent of directors at one quarter of ASX200 boards.

Overall, 22 per cent of ASX200 board members are women, up from 18 per cent in 2013. However Ms Beattie said boards need to gain a more focused and substantive understanding of how to leverage diversity on the board and the organisation, "and how to translate diversity into shareholder value."

Mr Nash sits on a number of not-for-profit boards including Reconciliation Australia and Golf Australia. Mr Sayers sits on the board of Carlton Football Club, Australian Business and Community Network and e.motion21.

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Expert advice for getting ahead in the new world of work left by COVID-19

Joanne Gray is Managing editor of The Australian Financial Review. She was formerly its opinion editor, features editor, banking & finance editor, Washington correspondent and BOSS magazine editor. She has reported from Zurich for Bloomberg News and was managing editor of Asiamoney in Hong Kong. Connect with Joanne on Twitter. Email Joanne at jgray@afr.com

Agnes King writes on Business specialising in Accounting. Based in our Sydney newsroom, Agnes is Accounting Editor. Connect with Agnes on Twitter.

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